Reflection
by Alpha29King
Summary: Sequel to 'Trouble'. Naruto and the gang arrive in Shinobi City for Naruto's first gym battle. Will he win on his first try or lose and be given a chance at a rematch. Read and find out.
1. Part 1

**Reflection**

Part 1

**Summary: This follows 'Trouble'. Naruto and the gang arrive in Shinobi City for Naruto's first gym battle. Will he win on his first try or lose and be given a chance at a rematch. Read and find out.**

X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The trio sighed in relief as they crested a small hill where the tree line opened up to reveal a city about double the size of Moon City. This was Shinobi City, a place that was supposedly named after a certain high-ranking ninja or something or other. There was a gym here and that's all that mattered to the young Naruto.

It has been a difficult two days of walking. They've headed for Honey Town after leaving Moon City with Shinobi City as the destination. On their way through the forest route, a Pokemon crossed their path. It turned out to be a female Ralts, thanks to the info on Hinata's Pokedex. The Hyuga jumped to the chance to catch it and called out Spray, and after brief battle, the Feeling Pokemon was her's. When they reached Honey Town, Hinata named her new Pokemon, Kunoichi. While at the Pokemon Center, Hinata picked up the schedule for all the Pokemon contests of the season. The first contest was to be in Oasis Town in two weeks. It turned out that Oasis Town had both a contest hall and a Pokemon gym.

"We've made it," his sister groaned and she hiked her bag higher on her shoulders. This dislodged Sunset the Vulpix, who had been napping on top if it, and send her tumbling over the blond girl's shoulder and into her arms with a yelp. "Oh, sorry."

Sunset glared at her then used Ember on her face.

Returning the little red fox back into her Pokeball, she turned her attentions back to her brother and Hinata. Naruto sucked in a deep breath and shook his head. With a quick minute of standing there, they marched down into town. Their first stop was to be the local Pokemon Center where they could get cheap food and get their monsters treated. After resting their tired feet a bit, Naruto would go to scope out the gym, while Naruko and Hinata scoped out the shops.

After some aimless wondering, they found the Pokemon Center. At least, Hinata did. The bright red roof should've been a dead give away, but every building in that part of the city had a bright red roof. It was the giant sign that got Hinata's attention. Once they were inside, the Nurse Joy and Chansey behind the counter only confirmed it.

Pokemon Centers were some of the most important buildings for a trainer. They offered free beds and care for Pokemon, and cheap, but delicious food. Without these establishments, the culture of Pokemon training and coordinating would be doomed.

After the Pokemon nurse at the counter confirmed that all nine Pokemon were healthy and uninjured, they headed for the bank of pay videophones to make some calls.

"Hi mom!" the twins grinned when their mother's face appeared on screen.

"Hey you two! You made it back to civilization!" she greeted with a sigh of relief and a smile. "Alright! What town are you three in now?"

"Three?" Naruko questioned.

"Shinobi City," Naruto answered.

"What?! You went through Honey Town and didn't call to let me know that you two were okay," Kushina looked hurt.

"We're sorry mom," they lowered their heads.

"Its okay you two. I'm just glad that you're safe," their mother smiled. "So you caught anything new?"

"Yeah!" they snapped together.

"Han, say hi to my mom," Naruto brought out his Pichu.

"You too, Gloss," Naruko unleashed her Glameow.

Their mother's eyes shined, "Wow, you two, nice ca-"

"No one is answering at home," Hinata interrupted as she came back to the Uzumaki twins and noticed who they were talking to. "Hello, Ms. Uzumaki. How're you doing?"

"I'm alright, Hinata," the adult on the screen smiled. "The reason no one is answering is because they're all at the grand opening of another restaurant."

"Oh," Hinata didn't sound surprised.

"Cheer up and show me your starter, girl." Hinata did as told and called out Spray. "The water-type, Piplup, good choice."

"Th-th-thank you," the Hyuga stuttered.

"Don't be bashful," Kushina commanded. "So, is there any more?"

"Yeah, there's more," the blonds boasted. Naruto let his Luvdisc free and Naruko did the same with her Magikarp. She struggled to lift the big fish into the camera's view.

"This is Flo!" he held his Luvdisc in his arms.

"This is… ugh… Serpent… Gah!" Naruko collapsed under the weight of her fish. "I'm okay."

"This is Kunoichi," called out her Ralts.

"Nice Pokemon," Kushina smiled then turned her attention back to her son. "Naruto, seriously, a Luvdisc?"

"Sorry, Mom," he looked down at lap and returned Flo to the Pokeball. "It was the first thing that bit the bait when we went fishing in Moon City. And it being my actual first time fishing, I got excited and so I just caught."

"Hmm," his mother only nodded.

"Besides, I'll train Flo here to be super strong," Naruto looked back up at the screen with a smile.

Kushina couldn't help but smile as well, "Yeah, I know you will. So how are Cherry and Sunset?"

"They're fine," Naruko got back to her feet after returning Serpent as well.

"Cherry's the sweet one, but she does have a temper, while Sunset is a bit mischievous," Naruto grimaced.

"Okay, just make sure you take baby steps in your training and respect your Pokemon," their mother advised. "You meet any new trainers while traveling?"

"Yeah!" the trio nodded.

"You get into any battles?" Kushina leaned closer eagerly.

"Yeah," Naruko muttered. "We faced some trainers at the wharf in Moon City and just today after leaving Honey Town."

"Didja win?" After only getting nods as answers, she added, "Hinata, you make yourself useful?"

"Uh-huh…" was all Hinata said before she was pulled away by Naruko, who was saying something about going shopping.

"Meet any other classmates yet?"

"No, not yet," Naruto sighed. "So mom, you know who the gym leader here is?"

"You said you were in Shinobi City?" his mother asked. "Where'd the girls go?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "They went shopping."

"Okay. Shinobi City…" she muttered to herself as she wondered off-screen, vanishing from view. "Now where did I put that handbook?"

He blinked and stared at the excellent view of the kitchen. From the looks of things, his mother was either making poffins and Poke-blocks for her Pokemon, or cookies for the lab staff. And just as he was starting to get bored, his mother's Starmie drifted into view.

Of all Pokemon, Naruto and his sister found Wish the Starmie the creepiest. There was no face, no eyes or mouth. It just floated around with its red, multifaceted gem flashing or glowing. It was bigger then they were… it was still bigger then they were.

"Wish?" he called out through the mic.

The large purple starfish froze, then face the screen and drew in close until the screen showed only its large red gem, flashing in a hypnotizing pattern. Han stared for a minute before turning his head away, looking dizzy. Naruto shook his head and pushed the dizziness away, then knocked on the screen.

"Wish, stop that," he commanded. "It's giving me a headache."

"Wish!" The giant starfish was shoved aside and his mother reappeared on screen. "Okay…" She flipped through a book, which he assumed to be the league handbook, and studied a page while mumbling to herself. "…Kakashi…"

"…Scarecrow?" he muttered blankly.

"That's the gym leader's name," Kushina informed him. "Kakashi Hatake." She went silent for a while. "He has no type preference, from what I can remember. He's pretty smart. Since you don't have any badges yet, he'll hold back in your battle… but that doesn't mean that he's going easy on you."

"You know him?" Naruto wondered curiously.

While they knew their mother was a trainer, she rarely mentioned any of the people she had met on her travels. She would talk about her journey with her Pokemon and all the battles they were in together, but she rarely talked about other trainers. They had never given it that much thought because she would always get them so wrapped up in the stories, but somehow they knew she was leaving something out.

"He was an acquaintance of mine a long time ago," She replied, "when he was a bit older than you and Naruko."

"Okay Mom. Thanks for the info. I'll keep that in mind," Naruto noticed a message at the bottom of the screen. "Almost outta time, bye."

"Do your best and take care of your sister and Hinata," she smile and waved. "Be a gentleman and go help your girlfriend and Naruko with their shopping, bye"

Naruto groaned as the screen went black with a click, "Not you too."

He sighed and recalled Han, who was sitting on the shelf of the pay videophone, and stood up. After quickly getting two rooms, one for himself and one for Naruko and Hinata to share, he walked out of the Pokemon Center and towards the shopping district.

'I'll have them help me snoop around tomorrow in return for carrying their purchases…"

* * *

The next afternoon, the trio sat in the stands of the Shinobi City Gym. Han was on Naruto's head, almost blending in perfectly, and Cherry on his lap. Gloss was on Naruko's lap and enjoyed being petted by her trainer. Spray was held by Hinata in her arms and Kunoichi on her shoulder, and were looking towards the battlefield. There was a challenger waiting for the gym leader to appear. The gym was a bit plain, like a normal Pokemon training facility or an abandoned office building. White pillars decorated the corners, a plain field painted on the dirt floor, the old bleacher, restored and padded for comfort, on one side for an audience. The most eye-catching feature was the mirrors. There were mirrors on the other side of the field, the ceiling, the hallways, and the doors. Heck, there was even a disco ball hanging from the gym lobby's ceiling. Apparently, there wasn't much to do in this part of Shinobi City, so the gym leader allowed anyone to watch trainers trying for his badge.

On a bulletin board in front of the gym, Naruto noticed the rules posted for all challenging trainers. The gym leader only accepted one challenge a day, which was obvious, and all challenges must be scheduled in advance. The gym leader also had the right to refuse a challenger if they were sore losers or if they were just plain jerks.

"This should be good," Naruto said in anticipation. "If only the gym leader would show up."

"Dang, he's late," Naruko agreed in frustration. "Hinata, you might be able to get some ideas for the battle stage of your contests by watching this battle."

"Yup," Hinata eyes lit up with motivation.

A few minutes later, the gym trainer who also seemed to be the gym's secretary, and was assigned to be the referee, stood up from the desk chair he was sitting on and kicked it back. As the chair rolled towards the wall on its little wheels, the gym leader walked in through the automated sliding mirrored-doors on his side of the field.

The man was tall with spiky silver hair, an eye-patch with the league emblem stitched on it, and a midnight blue scarf wrapped around his neck and mouth. He wore a forest camo combat shirt underneath an opened black trench coat, fingerless gloves, also branded with the league emblem, and light gray pants. The combat boots matched the coat. He seemed to look bored as he slouched his way over to his end of the field. A Granbull walked at his side and took a seat at his feet when he stopped.

"So this is the guy that Ms. Mitarashi has a crush on?" Naruko looked over the gym leader.

"I think so," Hinata replied lowly with her eyes glued on the silver-haired man.

"Maybe we should try and set them up on a date or something." The girls agreed with Naruto's suggestion.

"Finally," the challenging trainer, a boy a few years older than the trio, said in obvious irritation. "Can we start now?"

"Remember the rules I mentioned yesterday?" the gym leader countered blandly.

"Yeah! Of course I do!" the trainer growled.

"Okay, then let us begin," Kakashi answered with a yawn. "Good luck kid."

The teenager immediately started with a Nosepass, a statue-like rock-type with a big orange nose and two floating rocks on its side that seemed to work as both its arms and hands. Kakashi unleashed Lucario, a black and blue, hard skinned fighting canine. He then pulled out an orange book and started reading.

"What is he doing?" Naruko muttered in surprise.

"He always does this," a green haired girl sitting behind them explained, her eyes glues to the battle. "He doesn't need to see what's going on. He commands his Pokemon without having to stop reading. It's awesome! I wish I had his skill."

"Weirdo," Naruto mouthed to his sister and 'girlfriend', as he pointed at girl.

"I know," the girls mouthed back in unison.

Down on the field, Lucario easily thrashed the Nosepass. The trainer retaliated with a Grovyle, which Kakashi quickly countered with a fiery Arcanine. Even Grovyle's speed couldn't save it from defeat. The boy, getting frustrated and desperate, brought out an Azumarill. The gym leader recalled his Arcanine and after taking some time to think (or finish the page he was reading), summoned… a Ditto.

Naruto and Hinata grimaced at the sight of the pink blob. Naruko looked just plain disgusted and ready to throw up. It looked like either chewed gum or misshapen gelatin dessert…

The Ditto eyed its opponent, then it transformed into a replica of the Azumarill with puff of smoke and a "poof". The looked almost alike, except the only differences were the pale coloration on the transformed Ditto and its Ditto face was still plastered on it. Then the battle began.

The match-up wasn't as even as they had expected. The Ditto copied all moves that the foe threw at it. But it was at a higher level than the water Pokemon. It was faster and stronger. When the attacks did land, it wasn't even fazed by them, because of its high stamina. All those high stats gave it the advantage and it won without the gym leader having to take his eyes of the book.

"The winner of this battle," the referee pointed a flag at the reading man, "Gym Leader Kakashi."

The stands erupted in a wave of applauds and cheers.

"Man, this guy's good," Naruto said nervously.

"Yeah. This is gonna be fun, little brother," Naruko smiled. "Owww!"

Naruto pulled on one of her pigtails, "I'm the older one, remember, and this isn't gonna be fun."

"You can do it, Naruto," Hinata said, trying to motivate him.

"Thanks, Hinata," Naruto smiled as he scratched the back of his head.

Naruko just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

The gym's audience started to leave, now that the battle was over, but the gym leader seemed to not even notice. He was still buried in his book. The man's eyes never left the book as he commanded and switched his Pokemon around through the battle.

With intense curiosity, Naruto walked down out of the bleachers, into the field and over to the still-reading man. Naruko and Hinata were right behind him. The Granbull at the gym leader's feet made them feel cautious. The long fangs on its lower jaw looked sharp and unpleasant. And painful. But what was so amazing about the book that he had to read it during a battle, seriously?!

"What are you reading?" Naruto wondered.

Kakashi looked up from his book and studied him with his only visible, than noticed the two girls behind the boy. "Um… How old are you?"

"We're eleven," Naruko answered before her twin could.

"Okay, then I can't tell you what I'm reading since you three aren't old enough to know about it," the gym leader replied.

The trio sighed and Naruto peered at the book's bright orange cover. There was a red circle with a line going through it and a warning to stop anybody under the age of eighteen from reading it on the back cover. The front cover had the title, 'Make-Out Paradise', and drawing of a man chasing a woman.

Then Kakashi added, "What happened to your faces?"

"An accident when were little," Naruko cut in again before Naruto could answer.

Back home in Konoha Town, everyone knew the story of how the blond Uzumaki twins acquired the whisker-like scars on their cheeks. But that didn't stop anyone from picking on them for it. But ever since they had set foot in Shinobi City, the twins felt every curious stare aimed at their cheeks. The stares even frightened Hinata. Gym Leader Kakashi was the first person to ask them about it, and they knew that he wasn't going to be the last one to do so.

"I see you have Pokemon with you," the gym leader noted upon noticing the Pichu riding on his head and the Vulpix at his feet. "Are you interested in acquiring my badge?"

"Maybe…" Naruto answered, trying to not to sound as nervous as he was.

"What? Maybe?" Naruko bopped him on the head. "Of course you're interested in the badge."

"Fine," Kakashi shut his book with a snap and slipped it into an inner pocket of his coat. "How many badges have you collected yet?"

"None," he Naruto replied as he looked down in embarrassment. "You see, this is the first gym in my journey."

"Hmmm…" the man understood. "How many Pokemon do you have with you?"

"Just three," the boy answered.

"I see…" Kakashi nodded. "Alright, if you'd like to compete for my gym badge, here are the rules that we'll battle by: I will limit myself to only using Morpheus, and you may only use any two Pokemon. So don't blow it, but if you do, I could let you give it another chance in a week, if you want."

"Morpheus?" the trio blinked.

"My Ditto," the man explained. He scratched his covered chin thoughtfully. "I don't think I have anything scheduled for tomorrow except for my daily morning visit to my favorite diner. Talk with Tenzo and he'll set you up with an appointment to battle me tomorrow."

With that, Gym Leader Kakashi walked away with his Granbull at his side.

The trio stared after him until he vanished through the sliding doors.

"Great…" Naruto grumbled.

"Wow, he's a weird one," Naruko commented.

"Uh-huh," Hinata agreed.

"So you want to challenge him for the badge? And you can say that again."

The three young trainers yelped and turned around, with Naruto dislodging Han from his head and almost tripping on Cherry, and saw the trainer who acted as the referee for the gym battle. He seemed to be the same age as Kakashi and almost looked just as bored. He had short brown hair that spiked a bit at the top and dark, almost black, eyes that gave Naruto and Hinata the creeps and sent a chill down Naruko's spine.

"Um… Yeah," Naruto squeaked.

The brown-haired man - Tenzo-shook his head and beckoned for them to follow. "Let's see if there's any time slots open for you."

The gym trainer led them through the same doors that Kakashi had went through to disappear earlier and down a hallway. The hallway had no decorations, no paintings, no potted plants, no murals on the walls. Nothing whatsoever. Some of the florescent lights seemed to be flickering and ready to give out. They walked past a few doors until they reached the only glass sliding door. The room they entered seemed to be an office, since there were two desks in it, that were buried in old newspapers, take-out containers, fast-food wrappers, and other less identifiable paper. Just like the hallway, the room had no décor. The only good thing about the room was the view through the large floor-to-ceiling windows.

"This room is a mess," Naruto said in disgust.

"I know," Tenzo agreed as he pulled a binder from underneath the garbage.

"This whole building needs a woman's touch," Hinata studied the room.

"The gym leader needs a wife," Naruto commented. " Or at least his mother."

This caused all four of them to burst out laughing.

"Okay, okay," Tenzo flipped through the pages until he came to the proper date and handed it over to Naruto with a stub of a pencil. "Here you go."

Naruto frowned upon seeing the page. The entire morning was booked with other things, including the trip to the diner that Kakashi had mentioned. Only a few hours in the afternoon were available. He toyed with the pencil for a while, unable to decide.

"Just going to the diner, my butt," Naruto grumbled in annoyance. 'If I don't make it, I get another chance next week. So… why not?"

Impulsively, he signed his name in the slot for one-thirty in the afternoon, and handed the binder and pencil back to Tenzo.

"Alright," Tenzo nodded and put the binder away in a desk drawer and threw what was left of the pencil in the garbage. "We'll see you tomorrow… if you don't get cold feet."

"Don't worry, I won't," Naruto said with fire in his eyes. Han squeaked and Cherry barked to back him up.

Tenzo held in a laugh. "Then, don take it to hard when the gym leader, Kakashi, wipes the floor with you. Learn from your loss."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the gym trainer and left the office and gym with the girls in tow.

'We'll see what happens tomorrow!"

* * *

Naruto tried not to look visibly nervous as he stood at the challenger's side of the field and waited for his gym challenge for the badge to begin. The bleachers, which were packed-full the day before were empty, except for Naruko and Hinata, whom were cheering for him. And Kakashi was already an hour late for the scheduled battle.

"Um… Tenzo, where's everybody?" he asked the referee, who was sitting in the same black leather desk chair from yesterday on the sidelines.

"The trainer from yesterday was a punk, so Kakashi made sure that the battle was publicized to embarrass him in front of all the local trainers and Pokemon fans after he'd lost," Tenzo replied as he munched on his snack of a large bag of salt and vinegar flavor potato chips and a six-pack of soda. "He likes you better, so no public humiliation for you… yet. But at least you've got your two cheerleaders over there.

"My sister will wring his neck if he tried to humiliate me in public, that's her job," Naruto shared a laugh with him. "So you know he likes me because he doesn't feel like embarrassing me in front of a crowd?"

"Yeah, there's that," Tenzo bobbed his head, "and he seemed to be very interested in you and your sister's last name. I think he even might have looked up your trainer information… well, at least what little there was."

"I know there ain't much, since I've just started my adventure five days ago," Naruto shrugged. "When I talked with my mom on the phone two days ago, she said she knew him when they were both younger."

"Oh, really?" Tenzo emptied the bag and the last can of soda, and began scrutinizing the young trainer. "That is very interesting. Kakashi doesn't ever talk about his training adventures before I met him."

The doors on the other side of the field opened and Gym Leader Kakashi walked in and approached his side of the battle field, still being followed faithfully by the Granbull.

"You're late!" Naruto screamed, pointing a finger accusingly at him.

"Yeah!" Naruko agreed from the stands.

"Sorry, sorry," Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "I was helping this old lady with her groceries and…"

"Liar!" Tenzo cut in. "You're so full of it, you know that?"

Naruto blinked. 'Is he for real?'

"I guess I got caught. Oh well, let's get this show on the road," the silver-haired man let out a long sigh and unleashed his Ditto. "Pick your first Pokemon."

Biting his lip, he thought about for a moment, and then made his choice. "Flo! Stand by for battle!"

"Are… you… serious…?" Tenzo asked, staring at the pink, heart-shaped Luvdisc hopping around in front of the boy.

"Of course I am," Naruto nodded. "This is Flo's first official battle, so I wanna see what she's got."

"O-kay…" Tenzo muttered and stood up from the chair, shoving the empty chip bag in his pocket, and kick it towards the mirrored wall again. "The battle between the challenger, Naruto of Konoha Town, and the Gym Leader Kakashi is about to commence. Begin!"

"Alright Morpheus, its show time!" Kakashi instructed and the Ditto transformed into a paler Luvdisc. It even copied Flo's hopping.

Naruto studied and watched his Luvdisc and the fake Luvdisc for a moment before making the first move. "Flo, use Tackle!"

The pink fish followed the order and hopped towards the opponent. If the field had a pool, this battle wouldn't have looked so pathetic. Not nearly as pathetic as Serpent's flopping around. But on land, this actually looked kind of sad. The transformed Ditto hopped in the same manner as Flo, then jumped out of the way when the Luvdisc finally reached it. Naruto then called for a Special Attack and ordered an Ice Beam.

The Ditto-disc dodged every move that was called out. Before long, Kakashi finally gave the order to attack and had Morpheus use Tackle. Flo managed to dodge the first few Tackles before finally getting hit with a powerful Tackle and being knocked unconscious. The end result was the same as the day before: Morpheus won and Flo lost.

"Sorry about that, buddy, but you did great," Naruto muttered to the heart as he returned the limp creature to its ball.

He had hoped that Flo would, at the very least, tire out the Ditto a little bit, and maybe cause it some damage. He could've used Cherry to wear down the Ditto, but he'd tried that, the fire fox would take it too far, since it had a tendency to get overly serious in battle. In the end, he decided to continue with his plan and called out his Pichu.

"Han! Stand by for battle!" Naruto unleashed the mouse. "Han, use Charm then Iron Tail."

"Morpheus, reset and Transform," Kakashi ordered calmly.

The Ditto went back to being a pink blob and transform with a "poof" into a pale copy of the Pichu in front of it. It still had the Ditto face. Han was unnerved by the transformation, but still put on the charming face and lowered the Ditto's Attack stat severely. The fake Pichu still managed to dodge the incoming Iron Tail and it countered with one of its own.

Naruto then ordered a ThunderShock and it hit, but the Ditto didn't seem bothered or hurt at all. Han was getting tired after so many missed attacks. So Naruto decided to try and wrap up the battle.

"Han, Thunder Wave!" Naruto ordered.

Morpheus just stood there and took the hit, but it didn't get paralyzed. This surprised the boy, who decided to go with something else.

"Han, Volt Tackle!"

Tenzo's eyes and Kakashi's visible one widened in surprised. But Kakashi recovered and had the Ditto use Iron Tail. The attacks collided and the resulting explosion sent both Pokemon flying towards the wall behind each trainer. They shattered the mirrors and fell to the floor. The fake Pichu got back on its feet immediately while Han lay there motionless.

"Battle over!" Tenzo called. "This means that the winner of the match is Gym Leader Kakashi!"

"Han, return," Naruto recalled the Pichu as the girls rushed to his side. "You did great."

"You were hoping to paralyze my Ditto?" Kakashi as he returned Morpheus back into its Pokeball.

Naruto nodded as he realized that the gym leader didn't bring out his book this time during the battle.

"Here's some information for ya. A Ditto's ability is Limber. It means that it can't get paralyzed by anything. Keep that in mind for next week… if you still want another shot at my badge. Same rules, unless you manage to get your hand on two or more Pokemon by then, which will need a quick rule change."

"Okay," Naruto mumbled lowly and walked out of the gym in a slow pace. Naruko and Hinata followed close behind with worried looks on their faces.

'I hope he'll be alright…'


	2. Part 2

**Reflection**

Part 2

X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Naruto sat against a tree trunk with Hinata next to him and Naruko on a branch in the park at the edge of the city, and just started at the take-out container on his lap that held his breakfast. Han sat next to him, slump and dejected over his defeat at the hands of the Ditto. Flo drifted in a depressed manner in a fountain only a few feet away. Cherry lay curled on a bench next to the fountain and basked in the sun, making her bright red fur glow. After a few minutes, he opened his container and joined the girls in having breakfast.

His loss at Gym Leader Kakashi's hands the day before felt humiliating since his sister and the Hyuga were watching. The gym leader had told him what Pokemon was his choice, and didn't do some research on the Ditto species and formulate some kind of battle strategy. By winging it, he assumed he could paralyze it and take the victory that way. If only he'd paid attention at school…

"Man, I'm so stupid," Naruto groaned and ran his fingers through his spiky yellow hair after finishing his pancakes.

Han reflected his distress with a depressed squeak.

"No you're not," Hinata tried to cheer him up. "You never give up, no matter what."

"Don't feel too bad, you didn't do anything wrong," Naruko said, jumping down and throwing her empty container in the garbage. "You just didn't do some research, that's all."

"I'm the trainer. I'm the one who thinks up the…" Naruto was cut off by his phone ringing. The caller ID showed that the call was from the Pokemon Center, so he flipped it open and answered. "Hello… Yeah, she's here… Really?… Okay, I'll let her know."

"Who was it?" Naruko asked.

"It was Nurse Joy," he explained. "Hinata, your egg has hatched into a Riolu and placed in the Pokeball you left at the Pokemon Center. It is waiting for you there."

"Ooh, a Riolu," Naruko cooed. "You're so dang lucky."

"Luck has nothing to do with it," Hinata shook her head. "Every member of the family has a Lucario."

"That doesn't matter now," Naruto stated as he reached the fountain and returned Flo into her sphere. "Let's go see that Riolu."

Cherry raised her head with perked ears and stared at the woods

"What's wrong with you?" he questioned the fox. "Do you hear something?"

Cherry's ears twitched as if she was trying to pinpoint something. Then she stood up keeping her attention on the woods. Sunset and Gloss also joined Cherry in staring at the woods.

"I think they hear something," Naruko muttered as she picked up Naruto's trash. "Remember, they have more advanced hearing than us humans."

"Then how come Han isn't hearing it?" he wondered.

"His ears aren't fully developed yet," Hinata answered that. "Wait 'til he's evolved into a Pikachu, then he'll have great hearing."

"Alright," Naruto understood. "Let's head back to the Pokemon Center."

That seemed to be enough talking for Cherry, because she jumped off the bench and took off through the trees. Sunset and Gloss immediately followed her. Spray wanted in too, so he jumped out of Hinata's arms and gave chase. Han quickly climbed onto Naruto's shoulder as the young trainers ran after them.

When they caught up with them, they'd reached a clearing. What they saw, they didn't expect. The four runaway Pokemon were battling a large brown creature. Naruko quickly identified it as an Ursaring because of the large yellow ring on its torso, but she still brought out her Pokedex.

**Ursaring-The Hibernator Pokemon**

**The evolved form of Teddiursa. Ursaring is very territorial, and will often mark trees that have tasty berries and fruit.**

**Gender: Female**

The Hibernator Pokemon was having trouble attacking the small, but faster, Pokemon. All of its attacks missed and seemed to be tiring it out. Naruko grinned. She wanted that Ursaring.

"Sunset, Ember! Gloss, Shock Wave!" Naruko ordered. "Naruto, Hinata, call back your Pokemon. This Ursaring is mine."

The two trainers returned the Pokemon to their spheres. The fire fox and the gray cat did as told and attacked. Sunset shot out tiny fireballs from her mouth, while Gloss launched an electrical attack that had charged up on her coiled tail. The Ursaring managed to dodge the Ember, but since Shock Wave never misses, the electrical blast landed. In a blind rage, the bear charged in using Brick Break.

Sunset, Gloss! Dodge it! Then use Quick Attack!" Naruto called out. Once her two Pokemon both hit the wild Pokemon with the fast move, she tossed an empty Pokeball at the tired Ursaring. "Go, Pokeball!"

The ball hit and bounced of the wild one's head. It opened and sucked in the Hibernator, before falling to the ground. Trainers and Pokemon watched it with intensity as the red and white ball wiggled. It wiggled a bit more before the red light blinked out. The blond girl ran to get it.

"Alright! I've got myself an Ursaring!" Naruko cried in victory as she held her fresh catch in the air. Then she brought the sphere back down to eye level. "From now on you are Lady Luna."

"You sure are happy," Naruto noted.

"I've always wanted an Ursaring," Naruko revealed. "So of course I'm happy."

"Well, congratulations sis," Naruto cheered, then frowned. "That brings your total to four Pokemon, as well as you, Hinata, while I'm still stuck at three."

"Cheer up Naruto," Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll help you find some. Right, Naruko?"

"Uh-huh," Naruko nodded as she attached Lady Luna's Pokeball to her trainer's belt. "Now let's go meet Hinata baby Riolu."

With a quick nod from him, the trio headed back to town.

* * *

Two days later, they'd had no luck whatsoever. Sure, there were Pokemon throughout and in the forest surrounding Shinobi City, but nothing that Naruto was willing to catch. They checked the forest and even the alleys of the city. They only managed to find some that were excessively common. Naruto didn't want to catch some and keep them as benchwarmers until he was able to get one that was worth having. It wouldn't be fair at all.

"Why can't there be any Nidoran around here," Naruko nearly screamed as she pulled at her hair. "Male or female. I don't care."

"Naruko, calm down," Hinata pleaded. "Remember, we're here to help him find a Pokemon."

"I know," Naruko apologized. "Nidoran has the Poison Point ability, which can poison the attacking Pokemon once it makes body contact. A Ditto's Limber won't save it from being poisoned."

"That good to know, sis," Naruto finally spoke after staying for most of their search. "But a fighting-type is a better choice."

"Why's that?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Ditto is a normal-type," he explained. "Normal-types are weak against fighting-types. Ditto's type doesn't change when it transforms."

After checking his phone for the time, they forged through the woods around town, keeping their eyes peeled Pokemon for him to catch. So far, they've only encountered some Rattata, Bidoof, Slakoth, and Meowth, which Naruto and Naruko are deeply terrified of since their accident. Only a single Buneary had come across them. And before Naruto could unleash a single one of his Pokemon, Hinata snatched the rabbit from right under his nose, bringing her total to five. She chose to name it Heart after finding out that it was a girl. If they decide to venture out at night, they might find other things… but it got creepy at night and they'd be tired by then.

"At least our Pokemon have gotten some training out of this," Naruko sighed. Hinata and Naruto agreed.

They had come across a fast flowing stream where they had Flo, Serpent and Spray swim against the current to build stamina and strength. The other Pokemon got exercise by running through the woods and battling wild Pokemon. Even Knives the Registeel and the Riolu, now named Duke, joined in. When Duke ran into trouble, the iron behemoth helped him out. Lady Luna seemed to be enjoying it a bit too much, so Naruko returned the bear back to its Pokeball. After a while, all of them had learned some new moves.

"Even with all this training, its still won't be enough to beat that Ditto," Naruto muttered with a troubled tone. "We still need a new fighter on my team."

"Or at least a new strategy to take down that sorry excuse for a Pokemon," his sister added. "Or both."

After Knives, Spray, Heart, Flo, and Serpent were returned to their balls, they continued their search. Up ahead, Han and Duke poked their heads through various bushes and shrubs, and sniffed around for any other creatures. Above in the trees, Gloss jumped and Kunoichi teleported from branch to branch. Taking the rear, Cherry and Sunset sniffed the air. The trainers stayed in the middle and kept their eyes peeled. They have heard rumors from the citizens that flocks of normal flying-types inhabiting the northern part of the forest. Naruto mused on the possibility of catching one, but so far, they haven't come across a single one.

Han and Gloss temporarily stopped to examine a pair of shrubs and were nearly trampled in their distraction.

"What is it?" the twin trainers asked in creepy unison.

"You two really need to stop that," Hinata muttered as she returned the tired psychic-type back to its sphere. "It's really creepy."

"Sorry." Naruto smiled and scratched the back of his head.

All of a sudden, the five Pokemon stopped and perked up their ears, then ran off in a direction they knew they haven't gone before.

"Hey, wait for us, you guys!" the trainers called as they followed the best they could.

The five running Pokemon jumped over fallen trees and boulders until they stumbled upon a wooden picket fence, which looked to be more of a boundary marker than a barrier. Gloss and Han climbed onto some fence posts, while Duke, Sunset and Cherry stuck their heads through some spaces between fence boards, and looked around the open field beyond with curiosity. Naruto, Naruko and Hinata quickly caught up with them and leaned on the fence to catch their breaths. After a quick swig from some water bottles, they looked to see what their Pokemon were seeing.

At first glance, it seemed to be some sort of Pokemon ranch. But it couldn't be, with the variety of Pokemon species that wandered in the field… since Pokemon ranches tended to specialize in one or a few Pokemon species at a time. There were the overly common species like Rattata, Sentret, Zigzagoon, and Bidoof, as well as some less than common species like Growlithe, Teddiursa, Poochyena, Shinx, and Skitty. It was like a collection of Pokemon that were favored to be kept as pets. And that wasn't taking into account on whatever might be living in the pond in the corner of the field.

"Wow… what is this place?" the female blond wondered.

"How should I know?" Naruto rudely replied.

"This place is amazing," Hinata stared in awe.

A large, thick, dark-green arm with spikes swung at their heads and they managed to barely duck down in time. Pushing themselves away from the fence with Pokemon in their arms and nearly tripping over a raised tree root, they caught sight of the two-tone green, human-shaped Pokemon on the other side of the fence. It kind of looked like a humanoid cactus with a triangular-shaped hat upon its head. Naruko realized that she had seen it as soon they reached the fence, but it had been standing so still out in the middle of the grassy field that she had assumed it had been placed there as some sort of scarecrow to scare and keep wild and predatory Pokemon from trespassing.

The cactus-like Pokemon raised its bulky, spike-covered arm as if to attack again and they froze in fear.

"Hey wait you dumb Pokemon!" Naruko yelled.

"Now, now, Needles. It's alright. So calm down."

They snapped their heads to the right and noticed the gym leader and his Granbull walking along the side of the fence. The cactus Pokemon paused, and then dropped its spiky arm and walked back to where it was standing before in the field. Now that the Pokemon - Needles - was gone, they slowly returned to the fence with their Pokemon.

"Whew, that was close," Hinata let out a sigh of relief.

Naruto hesitated before asking, "Is that cactus thing yours?"

"Uh-huh," Kakashi nodded slowly. "My father gave it to me when I was younger at the start of my journey. It was a Cacnea back then. I didn't get the joke until the day it evolved into Cacturne."

"Joke?" Hinata blinked.

"Look it up and see if you can figure it out," the silver-haired man advised.

They obediently pulled out their Pokedexes and looked up the information on Cacturne. The devices' dull-sounding, monotone voices started reciting the facts about that particular species of Pokemon. It sounded like a choir of robots talking. On the first fact they reported, which was its classification, their attention was caught.

**Cacturne-The Scarecrow Pokemon**

**The evolved form of Cacnea. Cacturne is a nocturnal Pokemon. It waits patiently prey that are tired from traipsing around the desert all day.**

"The Scarecrow Pokemon…?" Naruto repeated. "Scarecrow… Kakashi… Ohhh!"

He snickered, Hinata giggled and Naruko just burst out laughing. Her laughs seemed to be contagious as the other two joined in.

"Exactly," Kakashi dryly said and leaned his rear against his side of the fence and stared into the field. "So, now that that's over, what brings you three out here?"

"Just looking," Naruto shrugged after catching his breath.

"What is this place, exactly?" Naruko asked, trying not to sound too curious.

"It a sanctuary," the man answered. "And my Pokemon help patrol it."

'Patrol?' Naruko wondered mentally, then she noticed the gym leader's Arcanine and Lucario walking around with their heads facing the forest.

Naruto skeptically eyed the variety of Pokemon out in the field, "Really?"

"Yep, it's a sanctuary for abandoned and mistreated Pokemon," the adult elaborated. "I started and built it from the ground-up."

The thought of abandoned and abused Pokemon was foreign to them.

"Who would abandon a Pokemon?" Naruto questioned.

"Who would mistreat a Pokemon?" Naruko added.

"And why?" Hinata wondered.

"Some trainers just aren't cut out to have and train Pokemon. Some try to have them as pets, but then they realize that it's too much of a hassle and they don't want to do any of it. After a while, they just release them back into the wild, but after a Pokemon has become tame, it doesn't do well out there." Kakashi shook his head with a sigh. "Some trainers ask too much from their Pokemon. And when they don't deliver, they punish them by whipping them. I've seen Pokemon that have been pushed beyond their limits, that they've been close to death."

"Wow," Naruko commented in disbelief. "That is really sad."

"Some Pokemon here have worst pasts and even sadder stories," Kakashi agreed with the blond girl.

"Humans can be so-very cruel sometimes," Hinata said with a sad tone.

"Mmhmm," the man nodded.

Naruto placed Han on his shoulder and Naruko scratched Gloss between her ears causing her to kick like a dog.

"So do all of the abandoned Pokemon come here to live?" Naruto asked.

"Not all of…" Kakashi was cut off by three growling stomachs.

"Sorry," they apologized in embarrassment.

Kakashi just chuckled and shook his head. "I bet you haven't had breakfast."

"Yeah. We sorta left the Pokemon Center before Nurse Joy was awake and all the restaurants were open," the female Uzumaki explained.

Naruto was going to add something stopped himself when he saw that Cherry was trying to start a fight with the gym leader's Granbull. "Cherry! Stop that!"

Cherry seemed to ignore her trainer's command and launched an Ember. The attack was only a distraction since it made the Granbull jump back, giving her time to pull her head out of the fence and jump over it. Once her paws hit the ground, she charged in with a Quick Attack. The Granbull easily dodged it and used Scary Face to slow down the little fox. That just pissed off the Vulpix, making it to try and counter with another Ember. The Granbull closed in, but stopped right beside the angry fox and pulled off a Lick, temporarily paralyzing her.

"Is that Vulpix yours?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah," Naruto muttered with a glum sigh as the gym leader scooped the shaking and immobile fox and placed it into the boy's arms.

"Its fur is a nice shade of red, though," the gym leader commented.

"I know," Naruto muttered as he gratefully accepted a Cheri berry from his sister to reverse Cherry's paralysis.

"Hmmmm…" the gym leader watched as Naruto pried the Vulpix's mouth open and shoved the small, spicy, red berry inside. "Has it always been this hostile?"

"Nope, not at all," Naruto muttered in a low tone. "She was so sweet and kind when I first got her, but now she's just plain mean and disobedient."

"Have you tried a Soothe Bell?" Naruto shook his head. "Do you even have one?"

"I do," Hinata raised her hand, then reached into her bag and pulled out a silver bell. "My father gave it to me to use on Duke, since a Riolu can only evolve into a Lucario with a high level of friendship."

"Don't you need it more?" Naruko asked.

"No. Your brother needs it more," Hinata reasoned. "Besides, Duke will stay cute for a while longer, which will help me in my contest."

"Thanks, Hinata," Naruto gladly accepted the bell, but had to struggle put it around Cherry's neck.

"Soothe Bells don't work right away," Kakashi informed.

The berry took effect and Cherry's constricted muscles loosened up. The bright-red fox hissed and barked down at the Granbull, but attempt to squirm out of her trainer's arms. The Granbull snapped its large jaws threateningly.

"Easy now, Pakkun," the silver-haired man murmured lowly, patting the dog Pokemon's head. "You asserted your dominance nicely already.

Naruto pulled Cherry's ear. "Stay quiet, you."

The sound of a Pokedex opening drew their attention towards the blond girl.

**Granbull-The Fairy Pokemon**

**The evolved form of Snubbull. Using it huge fangs to strike at its foes, Granbull may seem imposing, but most are known to be timid.**

"Yeah right." Naruko was unimpressed by the data. "Fairy, my butt."

Pakkun took the blond girl's comment as in insult and growled at her. Naruko shoved her Pokedex back into her jacket pocket and growled right back at the Granbull. While these two were having a stare-down, Han jumped off Naruto's shoulder and landed back on the fence post. The Pichu threw some insults to the Vulpix with high squeaks. Cherry took offense to whatever the yellow mouse said and barked something back. They bickered like two little children crammed into the backseat of a car during a long road trip before Cherry spat an Ember. Han didn't see the attack coming and was force to desperately dodge it. The dodged Ember hit the Granbull, giving it a burn and causing it to yelp in pain. As Pakkun ran around in agony, Naruko grinned.

"Enough!" Naruto reprimanded, giving Cherry a little shake. "No more of that."

"Now I see the reason why you didn't use that on in our battle," Kakashi commented.

Naruto hung his head in embarrassment. Kakashi then saw that his Granbull had fainted due to it burn, so he returned it to its Pokeball. The twins returned their Vulpix to the Pokeballs. Han climbed back onto Naruto's shoulder, Gloss jumped off the fence and stood by Naruko's feet, and Hinata picked up Duke and carried him in her arms.

"Now that the fun's over," Kakashi said as he jumped the fence to join the three young trainers. "I haven't had breakfast myself, so let's go get some. My treat."

And with that, he led them away from the sanctuary and out of the forest. The walk through town was a short one, since they reached their destination. It was more of a café than a restaurant or diner. It had outdoor seating, for those who had their Pokemon out of their Pokeballs. Since Han, Gloss and Duke were loose, they took one of the outside tables. Not long after sitting down, a large blue duck-like Pokemon wearing something similar to a bartender's vest came up with menus and set them on the table. Hinata whipped out her Pokedex to figure out the species.

**Golduck-The Duck Pokemon**

**The evolved form of Psyduck. Known as the fastest swimmer, this Pokemon lives in lakes. It is faster than any recorded human swimmer.**

While they waited for some to take their orders, they looked of the menus. There were even choices for the Pokemon. Once they made up their minds, they closed the menus and set them back down on the table. It wasn't long before a woman in her early twenties wearing a white shirt and black khakis appeared next to their table.

"Good morning," she greeted.

"Mornin'," Kakashi waved.

"Good morning," Naruko and Hinata greeted back together.

Naruto cleared his throat before he greeted as well. "G' morning."

"I'm Hiromi and I'll be your waitress this morning," she introduced as she pulled out a pad and pen from her waist-hanging apron. "So Kakashi, the usual?"

"No not today," the man replied. "Instead I'll have the French toast with a side of scrambled eggs and three hash browns."

"Alright," Hiromi wrote down the order then turned to the young trainers. "What about you three?"

"I'll have the biscuits and gravy with a side of eggs and potatoes," Naruko ordered. "And a fishcake for my Glameow."

"I'll have the same as my sister, just with cheese-biscuits, instead," Naruto added. "And for my Pichu, a mini blueberry pancake."

"I'll have some strawberry waffles with chopped strawberries on top," Hinata followed. "As well as sunny-side-up egg for my Riolu."

"Okay," the woman wrote down the orders. "What about drinks?"

"Black coffee. Extra strong," Kakashi ordered. "And they'll all have some orange juice."

"Somebody will be here with your drinks, shortly," Hiromi finished taking their orders, then left.

"So, back to where we left off," the gym leader suggested. "Now where were we?"

"My brother asked you if all of the abandoned Pokemon went to live at the sanctuary," Naruko reminded the Kakashi.

"Oh, yeah," Kakashi remembered. "No, not all of them. Just the strays from around the city and a few surrounding towns and cities. If they aren't too traumatized by their experiences, Tenzo and I try to find good permanent homes for them. But those that can't be rehabilitated, go there to live out their lives in peace."

"What happens to their owners and trainers?" Hinata wondered.

The same Golduck from earlier came back carrying two trays. One tray held a cup of coffee and three glasses of orange juice. The other held three water bowls also filled with orange juice. Using its Psychic, it lifted the drinks off the tray, and placing the cup and the glasses on the table and the bowls on the floor. Once it went back inside, Duke, Gloss and Han, jumped off the table to drink.

"Some go to prison. Others just pay a hefty fine," the silver-haired man replied. "But it all depends on how bad the Pokemon's condition is. Now that I think about it, that Golduck lived in the sanctuary until it was adopted by the owner of this café, along with some other Pokemon."

"That's cool…" Naruto and Naruko synced in awe.

"That's nice that you think so," Kakashi chuckled before lowering his scarf to take a sip of his coffee and facing the blond trainers. "So you two are siblings, huh?"

"Yep!" Naruto retorted, placing an arm behind Naruko's neck.

"We're twins!" Naruko added, also placing an arm behind Naruto's neck.

"Hmm, thought so," the adult muttered. "I been meaning to ask, but is your mother Kushina Uzumaki?"

"Yeah," the boy nodded just as Hiromi reappeared pushing a cart that carried their orders.

Kakashi held off on asking the next question until after Hiromi had left. The young woman placed the dishes in front of the appropriate customer, then crouched down to leave three smaller dishes for the Pokemon. When everything looked to be in order, she returned her attention to the four humans around the table.

"Is there anything else you need?" Hiromi asked.

"No, that'll be all," Kakashi politely answered. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said, then turned around and returned inside.

After a few bites, Kakashi went with his next question. "What about your father?"

The Uzumakis gave the older trainer a puzzled look before Naruko countered with a question of her own. "What about him?"

"Who is he?"

"We dunno," they shrugged.

They hated that question almost as much than 'what happened to your face?'. When they were younger, they could satisfy their peers' questioning with a simple 'we don't have one'. However, as soon as they grew old enough to understand that everybody had or has a father, their answer hadn't done it. But they didn't have anything else to satisfy them. They tried asking their mother about why they didn't have a dad like every other kid in their class, but instead of answering them, she just promised to tell them the entire truth when they were older. But with every passing birthday, she never came any closer to revealing anything to them. In the end, they had given up asking last year.

"You… don't know?" the gym leader repeated slowly.

"No," Naruto muttered.

"Why does it matter?" Naruko continued.

Kakashi sighed, shaking his head. "May I have your mother's number, please?"

Naruto squinted at the man suspiciously and Naruko asked, "Why?"

"Your mother is an old friend of mine," Kakashi answered. "And it's been a really long time since I've talked to her, so I'd like to see how she's doing."

"Mom said that you're just an acquaintance of her's," Naruto informed him warily.

The gym leader stopped eating and blinked. "Just an acquaintance?" He clutched his hand over his chest as if pained. "We traveled together for almost two years… and I'm just an acquaintance? Oh, now that's just cold of her…"

They nibbled at their lower lips as they thought about what to do.

"Well… If you know her that well, I guess we could give you her number," Naruto forewarned. But if she doesn't like that you're calling, she could just send Mia to terrorize you into stopping."

"Ah yes, her Gyarados, Mia," Kakashi laughed nervously. "Yeah, she would do that!"

The boy wrote down the number on a napkin with a borrowed pen before handing it to the gym leader.

"Thank you," Kakashi smiled and shoved the napkin and pen into his trench coat pocket, "So anyway… have captured anything new?"

Naruto shook his head.

"We have," Naruko pulled the ever so quiet Hinata closer to her in a hug.

"Really?" Kakashi tried not to sound surprised. "What'd you catch?"

"I caught myself an Ursaring," Naruko smiled and turned her attention to the quiet girl next to her. "And Hinata here caught a Buneary."

The gym leader nodded in amazement. More on the fact that the blond girl got herself a really strong Pokemon. Then he turned back to the boy. "Have looked around the fringes of town?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "But there isn't anything I want."

"Picky, aren't we?" Kakashi stared westward for a minute before deciding something. "Well, tell you what. As payment for kindly giving me your mother's number, I'll let you in on a secret. You know that little stream on the west side of the city?"

Naruto nodded.

"Follow it upstream for about at least seven hours and you'll come across a large clearing with a small waterfall… it's barely less than three feet high. A few rare species sometimes make an appearance there. If you're quiet and patient, I'm pretty sure you'll come across something that you'll like."

Naruto blue eyes lit up brighter than a neon sign. "Thanks a lot, Kakashi!"

Kakashi smiled at him as he brought the cup of coffee to his mouth. Upon seeing Naruto trying to hurry up and finish his breakfast, Naruko and Hinata knew what he was about to do, so they hurried up as well.

"C'mon Han, let's go!" Naruto got up and scampered off with a biscuit in his hand. "We have a little trip to make."

Han squealed in excitement and the girls ordered him to wait for them as they hurried hot on his heels

'Thing might just be looking up for me!'

* * *

Gym Leader Kakashi Hatake watched the children disappear and then sighed. "Okay, now to make an important phone call. Check please!"

Hiromi returned with the requested item. "Will that be all?"

"Yeah," Kakashi replied while placing money on the tiny tray matching the price and left a hefty tip. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to be somewhere."

With that, he got up off his chair and walked off. Since Pakkun needed to be healed, he headed for the Pokemon Center. Once he reached his destination, he checked in his Granbull with Nurse Joy. To wait and pass the time, Kakashi walked up to the bank of pay videophones. He took a seat and retracted the napkin from his pocket. He dialed the written down number after feeding some money into the phone. After a few rings, the connection was made with a click and the video screen came to life.

"Good morning, Kushina," Kakashi greeted cheerfully. "It's been a while, hasn't it? And… oh wow, did your hair grow out?"

"Yes. And its noon," the red-haired woman replied slowly. Her face was blank and guarded. Very uncharacteristic of the woman he remembered traveling with. "Now how did you get this number?"

"Your kids, Naruto and Naruko, gave it to me," Kakashi quickly answered. "Nice kids. Very interesting. Especially that girl of yours. She caught an Ursaring, you know. I was hoping to compare dads with them, but they don't seem to know anything about their father. Do you know why that is?"

"If the reason you called was to give me a lecture, I'm hanging up. And I'm not surprised about Naruko. She'd always wanted an Ursaring."

Kakashi wondered what had happened. The Kushina Uzumaki he remembered was the wildest woman he had ever met. Always laughing or cursing or having some mischievous gleam in her eye. The path to motherhood would surely mellow her out a bit, but it wouldn't make her open face so closed and cold. That wouldn't make her disappear without a heads-up to anyone.

But then again… she did seem to have a reputation of running away from her problems. She had mentioned having a falling out with her family, so she left them and never looked back. Aside from the occasional, strangely rude postcard she had sent them so that they knew that she was still alive, she made no attempt to make any other kind of contact with them.

It seemed as if she was doing the same thing again… not just with her family. This time it was with everybody else.

"You know," Kakashi slowly sighed. "Minato doesn't really smile anymore. Or laugh. When he does, they're fake and empty. He took it the hardest when you disappeared on us. I'm sure a letter or a phone call or a visit would fix that."

"No…" Kushina turned her head and looked away from the screen. "…No, it wouldn't."

And then the screen showed a blue X, meaning that the connection went dead.

Kakashi stared at the black for a moment. "Huh… And here I was hoping to have her talking for a few more minutes."

He heard his name being called.

"Mister Hatake," Nurse Joy called from the counter. "Your Granbull has been taken care of."

"Thank you," he said, picking Pakkun's Pokeball from the tray. "I guess I'll head back home."

He left the Pokemon Center walked back to his house, which was next to the Pokemon sanctuary. He unleashed Pakkun in the field and went inside. Entering the kitchen, he walked over to his own videophone.

'I'll let Minato find out himself, so now… who should I call next?'

* * *

Naruto sighed as he sat on a tree branch, shifting his legs so they wouldn't cramp up on him while waiting. They had found the clearing with the small waterfall that Kakashi had described. Naruko and Hinata were at the camp they've set up earlier not far from the open meadow. Now, all that mattered was patience. Something that he didn't have great control of. He had until Saturday-when his rematch against the gym leader-to catch something new.

'Just three days left.'

Han and Flo were having the time of their lives. The pond at the bottom of the waterfall and the waterfall itself were good training spots for the Luvdisc. While trying to swim up the waterfall, Flo learned the move Waterfall. Han enjoyed the flowery meadow and the crystal-clear water from the stream and the bushes full of juicy berries. He also enjoyed just being away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Cherry was more interested in relaxing in the sun and giving her trainer some trouble. Though it looked like she enjoyed the change of scenery.

So far, they haven't come across anything that Naruto hasn't already seen. The most notable event that happened had been when a large flock of Starly had landed to feed on seeds, nuts and small insects. While there wasn't anything at all special about Starly, he could use its ability to fly to keep in contact with his mother by sending letters and packages. But, before he had the chance to have Han paralyze one, Cherry pounced to the middle and scared them off with Roar.

'Aww, come on!' he thought at the time.

Naruto jumped off the branch as the sun started to set and treaded to the pond. After complimenting the Luvdisc on its training, he recalled it to its ball. As he turned towards the camp, he heard a shrub rustle. Only turning his head, Naruto noticed something light brown through a bush. He whipped out his Pokedex and put it in silent. Not wanting to scare whatever it is with the Pokedex's monotone voice, he silently read the info. Then a wide grin appeared on his face.

"Han, Cherry. C'mon you two," Naruto whispered, motioning the little yellow mouse and bright-red, six-tailed fox to him. "Let's go get that Eevee…"


	3. Part 3

**Reflection**

Part 3

X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Naruto's smile widen as he strolled out of the Pokemon Center and into the streets of Shinobi City. He followed the streets to the edge of town and headed northwest to the stream, where Naruko and Hinata were waiting.

He was happy and overjoyed for two reasons. Firstly, it was his newest addition to his team. Second, Naruko explained last night, why Hinata always seemed to faint or stutter whenever he was around her. Therefore, he came to an understandment with this information, which also left him confused. So he shrugged it off for the time being.

Once arriving, he unleashed Flo into the stream to join Serpent and Spray, who were swimming. Then he sat down next to the girl and they decided to call out the rest of their Pokemon.

Naruto went first and released Han and Cherry. Naruko was next and released Gloss, Sunset, and Lady Luna. Hinata followed and released Kunoichi, Heart, Duke, and Knives. Naruto then pulled out a fourth Pokeball.

In a flash of light, his fourth creature appeared. It was a nice shade of brown with its neck ruff, a lighter brown. Its fox-like tail and ruff were very fluffy. The small four-legged Pokemon had long ears and dark brown eyes that stared up at him. Naruto pulled out his Pokedex to get more info on it.

**Eevee-The Evolution Pokemon**

**Eevee is able to on many different evolutionary forms and adapts to almost any environment.**

**Male**

**Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, Bite, Shadow Ball, Sand Attack**

"Hi!" Naruto smiled, putting the Pokedex away. "Welcome to the team."

The Eevee's ears twitched and everybody watched as it tentatively approached him. It sniffed at his knee before it timidly crawled into his lap. It looked around eyeing the other Pokemon. Han, Gloss and Duke went over and sniffed the newest member of the family. Soon, Sunset, Heart, Kunoichi, Lady Luna, and Knives joined in the meet and greet.

Naruto couldn't stop smiling. It was hard not to. Eevee were one of the most sought-after species of Pokemon because they had the potential to take one of seven different forms upon evolution. There were nine evolutionary stones, but only three worked on an Eevee. The Fire Stone would turn in into the fire-type Flareon. The electric-type Jolteon would be formed with a Thunder Stone. Exposure to a Water Stone will result in the water-type Vaporeon, just like his mother's Mermaid.

But… evolutionary stones were expensive. He already possessed fire, electric, and water-type Pokemon in Cherry, Han, and Flo. That still only left four other possible evolutions to choose from. There were a few special locations in the region. Near the top of the mountain to the northwest, he could get the ice-type Glaceon. To the north, there was a thick forest, where the grass-type Leafeon is what he would get.

Traveling to the distant, permanently snow-covered Icecap Town just to evolve one Pokemon was silly to Naruto. And besides, Flo already knew the move, Ice Beam. A Leafeon was way more tempting. If he remembered right from history class, there was a special stone covered in moss tucked deep in the Forest of Death, east of Green Town. But… that place was still a distance away from where they were now. Plus, there were several gyms on the way of getting there.

'That just leaves two possibilities that might happen before we reach the Forest of Death,' he thought as watched the Eevee playfully running around with the other loose Pokemon. 'The psychic-type Espeon or the dark-type Umbreon…'

Psychic-types were immensely powerful, and before dark-types were discovered, they were the heavy favorite among any trainer. When dark-types were discovered and studied, it was found out that they were immune to any kind of psychic attack, and at night is when they reigned supreme. They easily trumped ghosts and psychics - the two most difficult types to defeat, but still fell victim to fighting-types and bug-types.

"Hello?" Naruko waved a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Naruto. What were you thinking about?"

"I was thing about what to evolve the Eevee into," Naruto explained. "So I've decided to go and try for an Umbreon."

"Hmm," Hinata nodded. "What about a name?"

"Yeah, I have," Naruto said, picking up the Eevee as it ran at arm's reach, then lifted it to eye level. "From now on, your name shall be Shadow."

The Eevee - Shadow - accepted his name with a happy yip and a wagging tail.

'I could always change his name to something more appropriate if he evolves into an Espeon. But with that Shadow Ball, it won't really make a difference.'

"Now its time to meet everybody," Naruto said cheerfully. "This is my twin sister, Naruko, and our friend and traveling companion, Hinata Hyuga." With each name, he pointed the girl that it belonged to. "Everyone, come say hello to Shadow, the newest member of the family."

At that, all the Pokemon stopped whatever they were doing and returned to their trainers.

"That's Cherry, Han, and Flo," Naruto pointed at his other Pokemon. "That's Sunset, Gloss, Serpent, and Lady Luna," he pointed at Naruko's team. "And finally, that's Spray, Knives, Kunoichi, Duke, and Heart," he introduced Hinata's group.

Han, Heart, Duke, Kunoichi, and Spray waved cheerfully and chattered something welcoming. Flow and Serpent bobbed in the stream, joyfully. Gloss and Sunset nodded their heads in an accepting manner. Lady Luna gave what looked like a thumbs up and Knives made a welcoming grunt. Cherry… just scoffed with a smirk as it looked away.

"Hey, be nice," Naruto scolded the Vulpix, though his new Eevee seemed to not even notice the rude Pokemon. "It way better and more fun to make new friends than enemies, you know."

Cherry ignored him and curled herself up on the grass.

"I can't 'til you return to your normal self," Naruto muttered. "Don't mind her," he advised Shadow. "She's been in a real bad mood lately."

"Well, well, well, look at what we have here."

The trainers snapped their around so fast, they almost gave themselves whiplash. A few yards away, through the trees, stood three trainers around their age. And they knew all of them. They had been in their class.

There was Sasuke of the esteemed Uchiha family. He had been a great guy to hang around with when he had been younger. But after some time, he had gotten all antisocial and really moody. Maybe even a little emo. He has also gotten so obsessed with beating his brother's gym, that he failed to notice that Itachi had become a member of the Elite Four. Naruto considered Sasuke a rival.

Then there was Sai, the class' second weirdo. Shino Aburame is the first weirdo. He lived with his creepy uncle, Danzo. The pale, dark-haired boy hardly ever said a word unless the teacher called on him to read aloud or give the solution to a math problem. When he did say something on his own accord, it tended to be something unintentionally insulting. When he wasn't hanging out with the group, he would spend his free time at the public library doodling in one of his many sketchbooks.

And lastly, there was the pink-haired, jade-eyed Sakura Haruno. She was one of the prettiest girls, along with Hinata, Ino, Naruko, and two other girls whose names he can't remember, in his class. She and Ino are the best of friends. While both the Haruno family and the Yamanaka family consisted of doctors, Ino's family was solely concentrated on psychiatric therapy. She was the girl that he HAD a crush on.

"Hi, Sakura!" he smiled falsely and waved.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked, then noticed the two girls. "Oh my god, you two are here as well?"

Sakura entered the clearing and ran to hug the girls. Sai and Sasuke followed close behind.

"We're training," Naruto answered cheerfully.

"Of course we are," Naruko replied for the pinkette's second question. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"So… I guess Ms. Mitarashi wasn't kidding when she announced your score," Sakura frowned. "You really did barely pass."

"Taking your score into consideration, I calculate that you only have a less than thirty percent chance of getting far in your journey," Sai announced.

"Stop being such a smartass!" Naruko defended.

"Yeah! I'm totally gonna finish my journey by collecting the eight required to enter the league and catch a lot of Pokemon!" Naruto declared, aiming a scowl at Sai.

Han quickly backed up his declaration with some pumped up squeaking and a shake of a balled up paw. In the stream, Flo leaped out of the water and into the air, causing a noticeable splash when she fell back in. Shadow took an offensive stance as he looked up at the newcomers. Cherry growled with a deadly glare.

Sakura cocked her head. "You have a Pichu?"

"A Magikarp?" Sasuke snorted. "How fitting…"

"Wrong!" Naruko corrected, cutting him off. "The Magikarp is mine. The Luvdisc is his."

"Yeah, I have a Pichu," Naruto smiled, grateful that his sister had gotten Sasuke off his case. He shifted himself so his head wasn't turned while facing his classmates. "Han, say hi to…"

"Whoa! It's a Registeel!" Sasuke exclaimed surprised, and detached a Pokeball from his trainer's belt. "I'm gonna…"

"It's mine," Hinata claimed ownership and recalled it into its sphere.

"Lucky…" Sakura whined enviously then back to Naruto and spotted the brown fur-ball next to him. "An Eevee? Where'd you catch that?"

"From a clearing upstream from here," Naruko answered for her brother.

"Oh! He's so adorable!" Sakura squealed and snatched up the Eevee. "He's so soft and cuddly! I wish I had one of…"

Shadow yelped in alarm and wriggled himself free of the girl's grasp and went into hiding behind Naruto.

"I only caught him just two days ago," Naruto explained with an apologetic shrug. "The only people used to right now is me, Naruko and Hinata."

"Oh, okay…" Sakura pouted. "A Pichu, a Luvdisc, and an Eevee… that brings your total to three Pokemon."

"Seriously Sakura, are you blind?" Naruko cut in. "He also has a Vulpix, making it four. I have four and Hinata has five. How many do you guys have?"

"Um… let me think," Sakura remembered. "Sasuke has four Pokemon, Sai has three, and I have three."

"I guess were doing introductions again," Hinata muttered.

"Yeah," Naruto sighed and reached for his Vulpix. Then he started the introductions by pointing at each of his Pokemon as he said their names. "This is Han, that's Shadow, the Luvdisc is Flo, and lastly, this is Cherry, my starter."

Next was Naruko. "Sunset is my starter, this is Gloss, Serpent is my Magikarp, and that is Lady Luna, my latest catch."

Hinata followed. "I started with Spray, Duke hatched a few days ago from an egg my dad gave me, Kunoichi was my first catch, Heart is my most recent one, and Knives, my Registeel, is a long time friend of mine."

"I'll make a trade with you for…" Sasuke stated to offer.

"No!" Hinata refused before he could finish. "Knives is going to help me with my contests."

"Such a waste of a good Pokemon," Sasuke muttered, sighing.

"That's a matter of opinion, you antisocial freak," Naruko said.

"Don't insult my Sasuke," Sakura reprimanded.

"Umm… make me," Naruko demanded.

"Will you two just stop it?" Hinata pleaded.

"Fine," Naruko nodded.

"Okay," Sakura agreed.

"I'll go on ahead to Shinobi City, before things heat up again," Sai abruptly decided and headed towards the city alone.

When the creepy boy was gone, the trio turned to their remaining classmates.

"Why are you guys traveling with Sai anyway?" Naruto wondered.

"He basically hit the road at the same time we did," Sakura explained with a shrug. "And it just seemed mean to allow him to travel alone. And besides, it's not like Sai is Ino-pig. Her dad made her promise to travel with Shikamaru and Choji for a least a few months. And I bet that Ino's father, Mr. Yamanaka, threatened those two, to never let her out of their sights. Man, its perfect!" she threw a giggling fit.

The blonds' shoulders slumped and they sighed. Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka have been rivals for Sasuke's attention since kindergarten. With Ino stuck traveling with Shikamaru, whom was slow and lazy, and Choji, who was just plain slow, it was unlikely that their traveling groups would meet often on the road. Meaning that Sakura would have her precious Sasuke all to herself.

"What time did they leave?" Hinata asked.

"They left at around eight o'clock." Sakura answered. "We took off at eight-forty."

"What about Kiba and Shino?" Naruko quickly asked.

"Professor Sarutobi said that they arrived at the lab, a bit after seven in the morning," the pinkette replied. "What about you three?"

"We overslept," Hinata gave the simple answer.

"On our way to the lab, we saw Hinata hundred yards in front of us," Naruko added to Hinata's answer. "Since she arrived at the lab before we did, she got Spray, which was the last Pokemon the professor had."

"But we weren't worried," Naruto continued. "We caught our Vulpix the day before. In the end, we left Konoha Town at about ten o'clock."

"Che, annoying," Sasuke groaned in irritation and sat down on a nearby tree stump that he had found. The moody Uchiha then unleashed his four Pokemon. They were a Charmander, a Shinx, a Starly, and a Bagon. "So, Idiot, have you challenged the Shinobi City gym leader yet?"

"Yeah, I took a trial run a few days ago. Now I'm working on my strategy for my serious attempt," Naruto replied, scratching the back of his head.

"So you lost," Sasuke snorted. "Why am I not surprised."

"Loner," Naruto growled with a glare.

"Calm down, Naruto," Sakura advised as she released her own Pokemon team. It consisted of a Bulbasaur, a Cherubi, and a Wurmple. "I'm sure that you'll win next time. It's not like there's a limit on how many tries you have at challenging a gym."

Naruto shrugged and lightly nodded his head. The pink-haired had a point. Naruto and Naruko dangled their fingers so that Flo and Serpent could mouth them. Shadow curled up by Naruto's side and seemed rather nervous about the sudden explosion of Pokemon. Gloss and Sunset kept their distance but eyed them suspiciously. Duke, Heart, and Kunoichi all sat on Hinata's lap, for safety. Han cautiously walked up to Sasuke's Shinx, intrigued by the other electric-type, which was female according to his nose, but wary by its Intimidate. Spray sent a challenging stare at the Charmander. Lady Luna seemed itching for a fight. Cherry was surprisingly sitting still, fur glowing as if on fire and eyeing the newcomer Pokemon as if they were dangerous enemies.

'She doesn't think I can win this time around,' Naruto pouted and sighed. He watched Sakura fight her girlish fear of bugs to give her giant pink caterpillar a rub. His cerulean eyes shifted to Sasuke who stared at the stream and unknowingly petted his Charmander's head. 'Neither does he, but I'm not surprised. I'm still just the class clown. I bet they think that I won't win, no matter how many times I go at it. But at least, Naruko and Hinata still have faith in me.'

"Sasuke," Sakura spoke up shyly. "Do you think that there are any nice little restaurants or shops or parks in Shinobi City?"

"Why should I care?" Sasuke grunted. "The gym is all that matters."

"We could show you around, Sakura," Naruko offered nonchalantly. "We've been in town for a while now. We know where everything is."

"No thank you, Naruko," Sakura answered pulling her Cherubi into her lap.

"You sure?" Naruko asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah, I'm sure," the pinkette said firmly. "Besides, I don't want to be seen with your brother."

"Okay then. Well I don't want to be seen with you either," Naruto countered, getting to his feet.

He didn't know where that response came from, but he didn't feel sorry for it. His feelings for the pink-haired girl had turned in the direction of Hinata. Sakura could stay with the moody Sasuke for all he cared.

With a sigh, the blond boy recalled Flo from the stream, then proceeded to do the same with Cherry. Han climbed up to Naruto's head and Shadow stayed by his feet. Naruko and Hinata stood up as well. The blond girl returned Serpent and Lady Luna to their spheres, but left Sunset and Gloss on the loose. Duke and Kunoichi took each of Hinata's shoulders as she returned Spray and Heart.

"Well, we'd love to stay and chat, but we've got to back to training," Naruto declared. "Challenging a gym leader for a badge is serious business."

"Yeah," Naruko waved at Sasuke and Sakura. "We'll see you guys around."

Hinata just nodded in agreement.

They headed back into town and away from their old classmates. Their Pokemon teams followed their lead, although Shadow seemed a little too happy to leave the presence of so many strange and unknown Pokemon behind him. Once they reentered town and were sure that they were a good distance away, they got down to business.

"Okay you two," Naruko clapped her hands. "I have to go run some errands. So I'll see you at the Pokemon Center in the evening. Gloss! Sunset! C'mon!"

With that, the blond-haired girl left. Her brother and the Hyuga girl were confused. She left them without explaining to them what she was going to do. Shaking their confusion off, the headed for the city's plaza.

The Shinobi City Plaza was a large clearing in the middle of the city. With its original red stone walkways still there, many people walked through the plaza everyday. Painted battlefields decorated it and a huge fountain fitted in the center. Booths were set up all over it along the edges of the walkways. The ones that sold food were near the fountain with tables and chairs next to it. After getting some sandwiches for lunch, they stopped by the only tent with a sign that advertised fortune telling. Deciding to give it a shot, Naruto and Hinata entered.

"Hello, young ones," a hooded man behind a table, greeted them. "Please sit, and I shall tell you your future. By the way, the name's Kazuo."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," the boy introduced himself, sitting on one of the old chairs.

"And I'm Hinata Hyuga," the girl said.

"Hmm… nice names," Kazuo commented. "Before we begin, would you two like something to drink. Some sweet tea, lemonade, soda…"

"Sweet tea will be fine," Naruto decided. Hinata nodded in agreement.

"Sweet tea it is," the man said, then turned his head to the right. "Hoshi, fetch some sweet tea for our guests."

Naruto and Hinata turned to see who the man was talking to and saw a large bug-type Pokemon hovering. The Pokemon had some humanistic facial features and red wing covers on its back. The trainers whipped out their Pokedexes.

**Ledian-The Five Star Pokemon**

**Female**

**The evolved form of Ledyba. Using starlight for energy, the patterns on Ledian's back will become bigger or smaller depending on the amount of energy it stores.**

The Ledian landed near a mini-fridge and pulled out a pitcher from it. It then proceeded to pour some of its contents into two Styrofoam cups. Once finished, the bug-type returned the large container to the fridge and handed the drinks to the trainers.

After taking a sip of the cold drink, Naruto opened his mouth to ask about his future, but Kazuo cut him off before he sputtered a single word.

"If you're wondering if you'll win at the gym tomorrow, the answer is yes, but you'll need your Vulpix to pull it off."

"How do you know I have a Vulpix?" Naruto asked in astonishment.

"I'm a fortune teller and a psychic," the man explained, then turned to Hinata. "And yes little lady, you will win your first contest, but you'll have a bit of trouble in the final battle."

"Thank you," Hinata bowed.

"You're welcome," Kazuo nodded. "After every fortune, I have a habit of telling my guest a random thing of their distant futures. But you two share a future, if you catch my drift. And don't worry about paying me. You two have been the most interesting people I've met in… well, forever, so it's free."

"Thank you Mr. Kazuo," Naruto smiled as he stood up.

"Oh! Piece of advice you two. Don't get depressed after every loss. Take those losses as lessons and learn from them. And reflect on your mistakes"

After leaving the tent, they threw the empty cups in the trash and continued walking around the plaza. They kept getting comments on what a cute couple they made, which left them blushing. Spotting an ice cream cart, they decided to buy some. Getting waffle cones with three scoops of ice cream each, they sat on a bench next to one of the battlefields. It was long before someone called out to them.

"Hey!" a boy wearing a black cap called out. "You two trainers?"

"What if we are?" Naruto countered.

"Me and my brother are wondering if you are up for a tag battle," the boy answered.

"Hmm…" Naruto thought about it before facing the girl next to him. "How 'bout it Hinata?"

Hinata nodded.

"We're game."

"Awesome!" the boy cheered before introducing himself. "I'm Seiichi, and that's my little brother Seiji.

Seiichi walked to one side of the field and joined his brother. Naruto and Hinata got up and headed to the other side of the field. They had a police officer referee the match for them. They would each use one Pokemon. The brothers unleashed their Pokemon first.

"Go Addition!" Seiichi brought out a Plusle.

"Go Subtraction!" Seiji chose a Minun.

The blond boy and the Hyuga whipped out their Pokedexes again.

**Plusle-The Cheering Pokemon**

**Male**

**Plusle is the cheerleader of Pokemon, sheering on friends with pom-poms made of sparks. It drains power from telephone poles.**

Naruto listened to his Pokedex.

**Minun-The Cheering Pokemon**

**Male**

**Minun is a cheerleader Pokemon, like Plusle. If its friends are losing, its body lets off more and more sparks.**

Hinata studied her Pokedex.

"Cherry! Stand by for battle!" Naruto unleashed his Vulpix.

"Kunoichi! Front and center!" Hinata released her Ralts.

The battle was over a few moments after it started. The brothers had no coordination whatsoever. While Hinata and Naruto were in perfect sync. Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched during the minute-long battle. Naruko saw the battle from the balcony of a café. Sakura and Sasuke were among the crowd of shoppers when they noticed their classmates in the trainer's box of the field.

After the battle, the brothers handed a flyer to them, then they ran off. Once they disappeared from view, Naruto and Hinata looked down at the flyer in Naruto's hand.

**Annual Tag Battle Tournament**

**When: October 5****th**** - 8****th**

**Where: Stealth City Stadium**

**Prize: A Surprise**

'Now this will help me in my training…'

* * *

The next day, the trio of trainers walked towards Shinobi City gym for Naruto's rematch. Said boy found himself floundering. He still had not come up with a sound strategy for defeating Kakashi and earning his first badge. His challenge would be starting in an hour. They wandered the streets while he looked for some kind of magical inspiration.

He wasn't going to use Flo again. While the Luvdisc had gained valuable experience and learnt the move Waterfall, it still wasn't going to be enough to ware down the Ditto like Naruto wanted. So there was no point in wasting two of his Pokemon. He didn't want to use Han either. With Morpheus' Limber keeping it from being paralyzed, there was no point in sending out the Pichu to lose again. That just left Shadow and Cherry.

Shadow would definitely be a good first battler. The Eevee's Sand Attack and Tail Whip would be a good way to start off and lower the Ditto's defense and accuracy. With the Ditto also being a normal-type, Shadow Ball would be useless. But all his efforts would be pointless if couldn't get Cherry to fight.

'How do I get Cherry to battle for me?' Naruto wondered glumly. 'She seems only interested in starting fights with me.'

The memories from the day before popped into his head. During some of the many battles at the plaza, some trainers insulted the Vulpix. When that happened, Cherry went way overboard and targeted the trainers instead of the Pokemon. Sometimes the Pokemon would mutter something insulting at her, which pissed her off. Cherry's behavior scared Hinata, so they left the plaza a little sooner than he'd hoped for. Naruto thought about it for a moment before a grin appeared on his face.

"That's it!" Naruto exclaimed, stopping suddenly.

"You finally came up with a strategy?" Naruko questioned.

"Uh-huh… And it might just work," the boy replied.

"What is it?" Hinata asked.

"You're both gonna have to wait and see," Naruto said, his grin widening.

They jogged the rest of the way to the gym.

* * *

When they arrived at the gym, they found an unpleasant surprise waiting for them. Naruto had a small upgrade to his already small audience. Sasuke, Sai, and Sakura were sitting up on the bleachers. Being watched by those three would have made his stomach do flips, but with his sister and Hinata sitting there, ready to cheer him on, it calmed him down.

"Umm… hi," Naruto gulped. "What are you guys doing here?"

"The gym allows people to come and watch. So we're gonna gather some Intel," Sai replied.

"Studying the gym leader before I challenge him is the best way to figure out how to win," Sasuke added with a smirk.

"But where's the fun in that?" Naruko asked, taking a seat in the front row.

Naruto shook a fist at Sasuke and growled.

"Calm down, Naruto," Sakura warned. "I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Hmmm…" Naruto hummed, crossing his arms. "How come I get the feeling that you're lying to me?"

"Naruto!" Tenzo called from his usual field-side desk chair. "Do you know those three?"

"Yeah," Naruto muttered, taking his place at his side of the battlefield. "We went to school with them."

"Ah," Tenzo nodded and kept on waiting

Kakashi was late again. Naruto got the feeling that this was a regular thing as the trainer acting as referee wasn't even worried. The young Uzumaki male sighed and sat down cross-legged on the floor. To pass the time he decided to make small talk with Tenzo.

About thirty minutes later, the gym leader walked in with his faithful Granbull at his side.

"Sorry I'm late," Kakashi apologized cheerfully. "I was helping an old lady find her runaway Aipom and found it on the other side of town."

Naruto's group stared blankly at the man.

Tenzo fake-coughed to hide a mutter that sounded like, "Bullshit."

"Alright! Let's get this show on the road!" the gym leader smiled, grabbing the Ditto's Pokeball from his belt. "You catch any new Pokemon?"

"One!" Naruto answered.

"Same rules from before apply," Kakashi unleashed Morpheus. "Pick your first choice."

"Shadow! Stand by for battle!" Naruto released the Eevee.

Like always, Tenzo got up and kicked the chair towards the wall, then yelled, "Begin!"

The Ditto transformed into a near-perfect copy of the Eevee. Naruto went first and called out for a Sand Attack. The dust from the dirt floor landed on Morpheus' face. The boy then followed quickly with a Tail Whip.

For every attack that Shadow dished out, the Ditto tried to throw right back. But since Shadow made the first move, the Sand Attack lowered its accuracy, making it poor and getting worse. The Ditto was strong, easily absorbing the damage. Timing it right, Morpheus landed a strong Tackle, knocking Shadow unconscious.

'Okay,' Naruto sighed, then gulped, pulling out Cherry's Pokeball. 'It's all or nothing.'

"Cherry! Stand by for battle!" Naruto called.

Once the Vulpix appeared, it sat down and scratched its head, uninterested. Seeing the Ditto rubbing dirt out of its eyes, the little fox laid down. Naruto took this chance and put his plan into motion.

"Are you giving up already?" Naruto snorted. "Are you afraid of a Pokemon that can't see you? Coward."

Cherry growled and hissed as Morpheus changed back then transformed into a Vulpix.

"That Ditto is making fun of you," Naruto teased. "I think its using its face as way of calling you stupid."

That was it. Cherry closed in with a Quick Attack, which the Ditto dodged effortlessly.

"Maybe an Ember will work," Naruto suggested. "That aught to teach it a lesson."

The bright-red Vulpix launched a spray of fiery sparks. Morpheus bellowed in pain and countered with the same attack. It didn't do any damage. They exchanged Embers back and forth, but Cherry's were getting stronger. Kakashi tried to stop his Ditto from using Ember again, but was too late. A few second later, Morpheus lay there, unconscious.

"Morpheus is unable to battle! The winner…" Tenzo announced. "The challenger, Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha Town."

Both trainers returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs. Naruko and Hinata left the bleachers and ran to Naruto side. They congratulated him on his, and his sister decided that they should celebrate.

"You won," the gym leader said, smiling. "Congratulations! As a sign of your victory, I present to you the Mirror Badge."

Kakashi handed him the badge he was after. It looked like a miniature version of a Victorian hand mirror. The boy immediately pinned it on the inside of his jacket.

"Umm, Kakashi?" Naruto muttered nervously. "Could you do something for me?"

"Sure," the gym leader nodded.

"Our teacher, Ms. Mitarashi, has a huge crush on you, and won't stop yapping about you whenever she gets the chance," the boy explained. "So you should go ask her out. You never know, she may be Ms. Right."

"Okay, I'll give her a shot," Kakashi turned and walked away with Pakkun and Tenzo behind him.

As Naruto and his companions left the gym, he peeked at his newly acquired badge.

'Just seven more…'

* * *

"You told him where to catch that Eevee, didn't you?" Tenzo asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kakashi played innocent. "Now go do what it is what you usually do around this time of the day."

"Okay, fine," Tenzo sighed. "Its because you know the mother of those two blond kids."

"I knew both their mother and father. They taught me a lot. So I feel like I owe them."

"Owe them for what?"

Kakashi looked out the window of their now clean office, "It's a long story…"


End file.
